Giving Tree Program Returns to Help Underserved Hampton Roads Students

ACCESS the ARTS program on track to send over 4,500 local students to performances this year

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 · 10:00 am

The Sandler Center, in conjunction with the Sandler Center Foundation, is excited to announce the third annual Giving Tree Campaign.All donations go directly to funding tickets for Title 1 students in Hampton Roads.

The ACCESS the ARTS program is driven by a passion to reach students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the great works of music, dance and theatre the Sandler Center has to offer.

The Sandler Center Foundation developed this innovative program to reach underserved students in Title 1 schools throughout Hampton Roads. The funding provided by this program is used to assist Title 1 schools in our local region with the costs associated with arts education programming at the Sandler Center. In Virginia Beach alone, there are 13 Title 1 schools that have at least 55 percent of their student population receiving free or reduced lunches and living in low-income conditions. In some schools, this number is as high as 90 percent.

In its first year, the ACCESS the ARTS program provided funding for 1,960 elementary-aged students (grades K-5) to attend matinee education programs at the Sandler Center. Last year, the program reached 3,850 students – a 27 percent increase from the previous year!

The third annual Giving Tree Campaign allows donors to send an individual student up to a busload of children to a performance at the Sandler Center. The Giving Tree Campaign will run until Dec. 31, 2013.For more information about the program, visit www.sandlercenter.org/accessthearts or visit the Sandler Center Box Office.